UPDATE: There has been new developments after Slayer's drummer Dave Lombardo released a statement claiming he had been kicked off the band's Australian tour. Slayer has now responded and explained the decision to replace him in a statement issued a few hours ago:

"Slayer confirms that Jon Dette will drum for the band on its Australian tour that starts this Saturday, February 23 in Brisbane. As regards Dave Lombardo's Facebook post, Slayer does not agree with Mr. Lombardo's substance or the timeline of the events, except to acknowledge that Mr. Lombardo came to the band less than a week before their scheduled departure for Australia to present an entirely new set of terms for his engagement that were contrary to those that had been previously agreed upon.

The band was unable to reach an agreement on these new demands in the short amount of time available prior to leaving for Australia. There is more to the account than what Mr. Lombardo has offered, but out of respect to him, Slayer will not be commenting further. Slayer is grateful to its Australian fans for their understanding of this unfortunate last-minute change, and very much looks forward to seeing them at these shows."

Original news, published on 21.02.2013

We might have the first contender for drama of the year. Thrash masters Slayer longtime drummer Dave Lombardo has released a surprising statement regarding the band's upcoming tour. It seems that the drummer has been fired from their Australian tour.

Full statement from Dave Lombardo: ''I want to personally apologize to all of our fans in Australia who have bought tickets for the tour expecting to see me in my usual place on the drums. So that you all know the truth, as of the end of the business day on February 14th, I was notified that I would not be drumming for the tour in Australia. I'm saddened, and to be honest I am shocked by the situation.

Last year, I discovered 90% of Slayer's tour income was being deducted as expenses including the professional fees paid to management, costing the band millions of dollars and leaving 10% or less to split amongst the four of us. In my opinion, this is not the way a band's business should operate. I tried rectifying it by letting my band mates know, and Tom and I hired auditors to figure out what happened, but I was denied access to detailed information and the necessary back up documents.

I spent the Christmas and New Year holidays realizing I had toured all over the world in 2012, but yet, had not been paid (except a small advance) or provided a proper accounting for a full year's sweat and blood. On top of this, I was told that I would not be paid until I signed a long form contract which gave me no written assurance of how much or on what basis management would deduct commissions, nor did it provide me access to the financial budgets or records for review. It also forbade me to do interviews or make statements having to do with the band, in effect a gagging order.

Last Monday, I sat down with Kerry and Tom to rehearse for Australia and to propose a new business model that I felt was the best way forward for Slayer to confidently protect itself so we could do what we do best... play for the fans. Kerry made it clear he wasn't interested in making changes and said if I wanted to argue the point, he would find another drummer. On Thursday, I arrived at rehearsals at 1 pm as scheduled, but Kerry did not show. Rather, at 6:24 pm I received an email from the lawyers saying I was being replaced for the Australian dates.

I remain hopeful that we can resolve our issues. But once again, I sincerely apologize to all of our fans in Australia who spent their money expecting to see the 3 of us original Slayer members. I look forward to seeing you in the future. Sincerely, Dave Lombardo."

The band has yet to release an official statement about this matter and some reports indicate that Jon Dette will be filling in for Dave in Australia.

That. was. harsh. Man, if what he says is true, I'ld be very pissed with Kerry, the guy just seemed to be the "owner" of the band and do whatever he wants with it and really doesn't want to hear some opinions.

This issue isn't actually far off from what Black Sabbath and Bill Ward have had in conjunction to each other. Its best to know both sides before I get sympathy, although I doubt that anything can topple Dave's statement. There's some shocking things in there it seems....

He has quit the band a few times and had issues with members before, so I don't think there is any new realization here. If anything, we are all just waiting to see if his claims about the band's finances are true.

Very sad news I must say.This is an outrage,money is spreading his evil clutches to the thing we love the most.
And Kerry King is an asshole,this band is falling apart.Tom Arraya could do something.This band has very serious problems
but I believe in my heroes they will adapt and overcome and come back from ugly past stronger than all!!

This is problem with the 'tyrants' in the heavy metal bands,for example I think Metallica would never kick off Lars,
I don't like Metallica but they are unique in that manner.I can imagine the scene:Kerry King blows off Dave,and Tom
Arraya stares with his dumb face and does nothing.They should work this thing together because Dave is original Slayer
and one of the best metall drummers of all time not some session asshole who played five shows in his life.

I read elsewhere that Jon Dette was also filling in for Benante on the Soundwave tour as well. Man, two legendary drummers I was looking forward to seeing and now they both aren't coming. As a fan, very bad news. And also as a fan, it's not much fun to hear the band's dirty laundry aired in public about their finances.

We don't know the whole story yet. But so far, this is sad. This guy is the Buddy Rich of thrash drummers and he's getting kicked out because's he asks too many questions? Pathetic. I hope Metallica fires Lars so Dave can join them, and Lars can play in Slayer, him and Kerry are perfect for eachother.

This issue isn't actually far off from what Black Sabbath and Bill Ward have had in conjunction to each other. Its best to know both sides before I get sympathy, although I doubt that anything can topple Dave's statement. There's some shocking things in there it seems....

It seems to be a pretty different situation from what I know. Bill ward wasn't kicked off, he left on his own and according to Black Sabbath's official statement he can come back whenever he wants.

Machiavelli - 22.02.2013 at 01:42

Looks like they cracked open a bottle of Slayer vintage whine.... $money is the real evil here.

Typical band argument counter where money is involved. "Yea, Dave Mr. Lombardo is right but we're not going to admit it cuz we want him to look like the asshole here not us so we're gona apologize with some vague statement that doesn't admit he's right but doesn't say that he is wrong either."

If I was in a band making the sort of money Slayer are making and the total cut to the band was only 10%, I'd be asking questions as well. This is assuming Lombardo is right in what he's saying. Wonder why he's taken so long to realise what's going on. All this sort of stuff usually takes place behind closed doors and isn't spoken about, so it shows how bad things have become that A.D. Dave has gone public about it. Maybe the 10% cut to the band explains why King has been seeking extra external revenue doing silly alcohol ads for Jagermeister?

We don't know the whole story yet. But so far, this is sad. This guy is the Buddy Rich of thrash drummers and he's getting kicked out because's he asks too many questions? Pathetic. I hope Metallica fires Lars so Dave can join them, and Lars can play in Slayer, him and Kerry are perfect for eachother.

Wow wow wow! Come down! It doesn't matter if Kerry is a big douche-bag, making him suffer Lars's drumming in every rehearsal is an unreasonably harsh!